The princess of light
by dreamergal
Summary: Princess Miyu is rich, popular and attractive...apart from having some UnPrincesslike qualities.But all she wants is to leave all this luxury and protection.. What happens when her wish come true?PLEASE READ AND REVIEW..CHAPTER 5 PUT UP!
1. How it all began

**THE PRINCESS**.

**A/N: **I always loved fairy tales. So, I decided to write one with all our favorite Daa!Daa!Daa! Characters. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Daa!Daa!Daa!

Chapter1

**How it all began**

Like all fairy tales, the story begins like this….

Once upon a time there was a beautiful celestial maiden, named Aura. She lived on the moon and watched over earth, the planet she was created to protect. She was skilled in magic and war-craft. Aura was very powerful but she was kind and used her powers to help the people on Earth. She always kept a watchful eye on the 'three evil witches', who wanted to rule the earth and enslave humans.

The witches didn't have the power to oppose her and were defeated countless number of times. And when they were defeated for the hundredth time, they just vanished completely. ……. But what Aura didn't know was that the witches were very much alive and were devising an evil plan to over power her.

A few years passed and then, Aura heard a voice calling out to her. It was the voice of a young king from earth, named Alex. Somehow, he was able to feel her presence. He gazed longingly at the moon everyday and pleaded with her to come to him.

At first, Aura thought it was impossible for a mere human to know of her existence…. But the more she watched him and listened to his words, the more she longed to go to be with him She had fallen in love with him.. But leaving the moon meant that she would have to give up her powers.

But she couldn't bear to live away from him and came down to earth. Her king was in the royal garden as usual, moon-gazing. When his eyes fell on her, he smiled and held his arms open. Aura smiled back happily and ran to him…

But just as she approached him, he disappeared into thin air……. and the three evil witches came in his place. Aura was shocked. What happened to Alex, the one she loved so much?

The evil witches laughed and said that it was all a trick and there was no Alex at all. The leader of the witches then shot an arrow at her. Aura still had enough power to save herself but she was devastated and couldn't dodge the arrow. Before breathing her last breath, she swore to take revenge.

But for some reason, the witches didn't unleash their terror. Instead, they disappeared once again.

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**A hundred years later, in the kingdom of 'Otto', a princess was born.**

King Yuu and Queen Miki were proud of their beautiful daughter, whom they named as 'Miyu'.

Princess Miyu was brought up amidst utmost care and protection all through her life. She was never allowed outside the castle walls. But that didn't mean that she was locked up and didn't have any fun. She had a few close friends, namely….the two sisters, princesses **Christine** and **Momoka** from the neighbouring kingdom ….. her cousin, Prince **Seiya**…… and her two personal maids, **Aya** and **Nanami**.

All day long, she could ride her ponies in the castle grounds and play in the huge gardens with them. But Princess Miyu didn't do that very often. She wasn't what one would call your average 'princess'…..

Her favorite pastimes were cooking and sword-fighting. (Not very princess-like, isn't it?)

She spent most of the time in the kitchens, learning to prepare dishes from all over the world. Whatever she cooked, she made it absolutely delicious. It was not everyday that one got to see a princesses cooking in the kitchen but the King and Queen didn't mind. Their daughter's happiness meant more to them… Besides, they loved her cooking as well.

When it came to sword-fighting as well, she seemed to acquire some sort of magical powers. By the time she was fifteen, she could handle a sword as easily as one could handle a pen.

She practically looked like an angel…. with her long blonde hair, emerald green eyes and her perfect slim figure. No one could ever imagine that such a kind and innocent looking princess could have such extraordinary skill in sword fighting. No one could beat her… not even her father's skilled bodyguards.

Now, even if she was beautiful on the outside, which eligible bachelor would want to marry a princess who could 'cook' and 'fight'? In those days, princesses were supposed to stay away from kitchens and weapons and were supposed to be calm and gentle.

Otherwise, they would be like any other common girl….. but not Princess Miyu.

To tell the truth, almost all the men in the kingdom were crazy about her. They couldn't take their eyes off her. It was as if she was the legendary 'goddess of beauty' herself.

But, Miyu wasn't interested in any of her admirers.

Actually, she was betrothed to a young prince from a distant kingdom, the very day she was born. She had never seen him all her life. All she knew was that his name was 'Nozomu' and that she was to marry him on her eighteenth birthday. She was going to turn seventeen the next day. Then it would be exactly a year before she met her future husband. She had heard that Prince Nozomu was extremely good looking and was very popular among the girls of his kingdom.

But still, Miyu wasn't exactly looking forward to her eighteenth birthday. She didn't find the thought of marrying a prince, whom she never met before, very appealing. She was actually dreading that day. The King and Queen had told her about the betrothal only on her fifteenth birthday. Everyone was thrilled and happy when this was announced… that is, everyone except Miyu.

She wasn't like any other princess who spent all her life dreaming about 'Prince Charming'. She was not sure whether she could 'live happily ever after' with a stranger. She wanted to meet him and know everything about him before agreeing to marry him. What if he was cruel and cold? She couldn't have that…She tried to reason with her parents but they merely laughed off her doubts about the prince, saying that there was nothing to worry about. There was no use arguing.

Miyu had also overheard rumours from the maids that she wasn't the only child…that the King and Queen also had a son. As far as she knew, the little boy had vanished without a trace when he was just five years old. Whenever she raised the topic, her parents would either change the subject or get all angry and retort that the rumour was absolutely false. But Miyu could make out that they were hiding something from her. No matter how much she pleaded with them to tell the truth about whether she actually did have an older brother or not, they wouldn't tell her anything.

Then, Miyu would feel really hurt and dejected. Sometimes, all she wanted was to leave the castle and live somewhere far away, where no one would be controlling her every move. She wanted to be able to make her own decisions and live her life her way….. not in a way as it was designed for her. But that would never happen… or would it?

Now, there was a powerful astrologer in the palace, named Durian. The King and Queen always took her opinion on every single matter and respected her thoughts and decisions. But Princess Miyu didn't like her very much. She always thought that Durian was a cold and creepy woman. And she really hated the way her parents did everything she told them to do. But like she said before there was no use arguing with her parents.

But Miyu was very right in not trusting Durian, as she found out later.

The next day, when Princess Miyu woke up, she was surprised to see that there was no sign of festivities. All her previous birthdays were celebrated very grandly. The whole palace would be decorated with flowers and ribbons. The cooks would have prepared excellent feasts and she would have received hundreds of presents.

But this year there were no songs, no gifts and no chants of 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'…. Nothing!

What happened? Did everyone forget that it was her birthday?

She rushed down to the throne room, still dressed in her silk nightdress and banged open the door.

King Yuu and Queen Miki were seated on their thrones, looking rather upset.

"What happened?" asked Princess Miyu softly.

The King looked up at her and said solemnly, "Miyu, my child. I'm afraid we have some bad news for you."

"H..uu..h?" Miyu whispered. She was scared….really scared. Never in all her life did she hear her father speak in such a serious tone. She knew that she was going to hear some really bad news…..

In one corner of the room, Durian smirked and said darkly, "Now we won't have any more nonsense from you, my 'Princess'…."

**A/N: **In the next chapter, Miyu has to leave the castle for a shocking reason. Our beloved Kanata will enter the picture as well.

So, how was it? I know it's small but it's only an intro. PLEASE REVIEW and tell me if it's any good. This is only my second fan fic. The second chapter is ready but I'll post it a bit later….


	2. The secret

A/N: Enjoy the story. Please review. Disclaimer: I do not own Daa!Daa!Daa! 

**_Recap_:** The King looked up at her and said solemnly, "Miyu, my child. I'm afraid we have some bad news for you."

"H..uu..h?" Miyu whispered. She was scared….really scared. Never in all her life did she hear her father speak in such a serious tone. She knew that she was going to hear some really bad news…..

Chapter 2

**The secret**

Queen Miki said tearfully, "I'm so sorry, Miyu….."

"Calm down, Mom. What happened? Is there going to be a war or something?" consoled Miyu.

" I wish it was a war… but it's not! It's worse than that." replied Miki. "I'm sorry to say that we have been hiding a big secret from you…. Remember those rumours that you heard about having an older brother……? Well, it's absolutely true!"

Miyu's eyes opened wide with shock. All these years, she had pleaded with them to tell her whether she did have an older brother, but they always said 'no'. She still never believed them and kept on asking, hoping to hear a 'yes'.

And now, when they finally agreed that they did have a son, this news came as more of a shock than she had expected. In fact, she wanted them to say that she didn't have any brother. She wasn't prepared to know of this secret.

"What do you mean? All these years, you told me that I was the only child…." whispered Miyu.

"Seven years before you were born, we had a son. He was called Luu and we loved him dearly. But when he turned five, Durian warned us that our little boy was in mortal danger if he remained within the kingdom. She told us that we had to send him away to a distant land. We were terribly upset about the whole thing……" Said Yuu

Miyu interrupted, "Tell me you didn't listen to that awful Durian! Tell me that my big brother is safe in our own castle or perhaps, somewhere in Princess Christine's kingdom…..or did you listen to that evil witch?"

"SILENCE!" ordered Yuu. "I don't want to hear any more words against our astrologer. Durian was kind enough to personally take our son to a safe place. He is well and happy under her care and guidance."

Miyu had to refrain herself from saying, "How can you be sure?" She was really taken aback by her father's tone. So she just bowed her head and fought against the tears that were threatening to show any minute.

Miki shifted her gaze sadly from the King to her daughter and said, "Well, after he was taken away to another place, we were all depressed. But then, two years later, you were born….. and all the happiness in the world came back to us…"

"Why didn't you tell me all this before?" Miyu cut in.

Miki paused for a second and then said, "We were going to tell you all about Luu, but Durian stopped us and said that if you came to know about it, then you would be in danger as well."

"What kind of danger?" asked Miyu.

"For some reason, Durian could see blurred visions of death in your future, if you were told the truth. We didn't want you to come to any harm, so we didn't tell you anything. All the maids and cooks of the palace were forbidden to tell you about it."

"But why are you telling me this now?" asked Miyu, still upset and angry.

"The thing is, exactly one year from today, all the planets of the universe are going to align. According to Durian, this alignment is going to have an evil influence on the people. She fears that someone in the kingdom will go against you during this period and try to harm you. Meaning, you will be in danger for one year…. within the kingdom, that is. I'm afraid we have to send you away too."

" _Within the kingdom? _Why don't you understand? Durian is trying to get rid of all heirs to the throne. She wants me go away from the safety of the palace to someplace where I will die at any cost!" cried out Miyu.

It was Durian who spoke this time, "Calm down princess. I assure you that I have your best interest at heart. I will personally send you to a safe place…. In fact, the very same place where your brother is. On your eighteenth birthday, all the dangers will be erased forever. I will bring you back and you can marry Prince Nozomu and live happily for the rest of your life."

"It's not like have a choice." retorted Miyu.

"Are you ready to leave, then?"

"What? Now?"

"Of course. You have to leave at the earliest, my 'Princess'."

Just then, Miyu's two favourite maids, Aya and Nanami, entered the throne room, carrying a cloth bag. They handed it over to her.

"What's this?" asked Miyu.

Miyu's mother replied, "I forgot to say 'Happy Birthday', Miyu. That is you birthday present….. Why don't you open it?"

Miyu opened it and found a beautiful white dress. It looked like it was made out of stars because it was studded with sparkling diamonds. There were also a matching pair of shoes, a crown and a bracelet to go with it.

"That's your wedding dress, Miyu. When you come back, you can straight away marry your Prince."

Miyu smiled weakly. The dress was truly beautiful, but she didn't like the sound of marrying the prince as soon as she came back…. That is, 'if' she came back.

She also found a shiny new sword inside the bag.

"We thought you would like to practice your sword-fighting with Luu." said Miki.

"But mother, I still think I would be better off here…" protested Miyu.

Durian cut in, "Now, prepare to leave. There's no time to waste."

And with that she chanted some magic words and Miyu was engulfed by thick white smoke. She heard the cries of 'goodbye' from her mother.

King Yuu, who was still rather angry, realized that it would be another whole year before he saw his beautiful daughter again and yelled, "GOODBYE MIYU. TAKE CARE!"

The last thing they heard from her was, "I DON'T WANT TO GOOOO….."

And then, she was gone….. gone to a safer place… or at least, that was what they thought.

"Where am I?" thought Miyu to herself.

She was standing in the middle of a beautiful garden, full of flowers. Was Durian actually a good person?

Just then, she heard the voice of a young man, "My little sister, is that you?"

She slowly turned around and saw her big brother, for the very first time in her life.

"It is you…." he said happily and held his arms wide open.

Miyu smiled and ran towards him, with her hand held out. She was about to reach him when suddenly,

She opened her eyes. It was evening and she was lying on the ground. She gently sat up and looked around.

Her brother was nowhere in sight.

Come to think of it, she couldn't even remember what he looked like. All the flowers had disappeared as well. Had it all been just a dream? She had not been taken to any sort of safe place. In fact, she was in a dangerous looking swamp.(Just as she expected from Durian.)

Miyu found that she still had her cloth bag with her. She picked up a stick and made her way, slowly and cautiously, across the swamp. There was no use just sitting there. She might as well try and go back to her castle.

Wading across the muddy swamp was harder than she thought. She was soon covered from head to toe in muck and slime. As she walked a bit further, she suddenly heard the cry of wolves from behind.

"Just great….wasn't this place bad enough without wolves in it as well?" Miyu said wearily.

She soon reached dry land and ran as far away from the wolves as possible. But quite a few wolves had caught up with her. Two of them lunged forward at her. She immediately took out her sword attacked them.

But more wolves kept on coming. She was rather tired after crossing the swamp and not to mention upset, after the whole episode with her parents.

Yet, she fought with fierce determination. She wanted to take revenge on that evil Durian. But as the fight continued, she became weaker. She had sustained a few minor scratches.

She slowly started edging away from them, but she tripped on a rock and dropped her sword.

The wolves took this chance to pounce on the defenseless princess.

Miyu shut her eyes and braced herself.

But the claws and the sharp teeth did not come.

It had been far too long…..and still, no wolf had attacked her. In fact, she could hear them yelping in pain. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw a young man, shielding her from the wolves.

He held a sword in one hand and a wooden shield in the other.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, without taking his eyes off the wolves.

"Y..e..s." muttered Miyu, weakly.

There were only a few more wolves left. They all were bearing their fangs, but kept their distance between the man.

"Didn't get enough of my sword yet?" he asked and took one step forward.

The wolves finally gave up and retreated into the woods.

The young man sheathed his sword, turned around and walked up to Miyu. That was when she saw his face. He was really handsome with intense brown eyes and brown hair. In fact, he looked like a knight. He held out his hand to her and helped her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Yes, thank you." replied Miyu.

"I'm Kanata by the way and I'm a hunter. What's a girl like you doing in the woods?"

"I'm Miyu and I am a prin…. a cook. Yes, I'm an excellent cook and I was hoping to work somewhere. But I ended up in this swamp…"

She was about to say that she was a princess but she was not sure she could trust the man just yet. What if he had been hired by Durian? She thought it would be better if she lied about her identity. And as she noticed her disheveled appearance, she doubted whether he would believe her, if she told the truth anyway.

"The village is little bit south from here. Would you like to come there?" asked Kanata, climbing on to his white horse.

"_He's so kind and understanding. He knows I'm weak. So, he's going to take me with him…"_ thought Miyu, dreamily.

Miyu retrieved her sword and stood there, waiting for him to pull her on to his horse. But Kanata was already moving away.

"Wait… What about me?" she asked.

He turned back and said, "What are you doing, just standing there? If you want to reach the village before sundown, you have to walk fast."

"Walk? Aren't you taking me on your horse?" asked Miyu.

"What? Take you on my horse? I don't give 'royal' treatment to muddy 'girls'. You'll just dirty my beautiful horse." He retorted.

"HOW DARE YOU? Take that back now..." yelled Miyu, angrily, instantly forgetting all his good qualities. What happened to that kind knight of a man who had just saved her?

He was not kind… He was a jerk, just like all the other men in her kingdom.

Kanata had already gone a few paces forward and he showed no sign of coming back to get her.

"Once I get back to my castle, I'll show you what 'royal' treatment is all about. You just wait till I become princess again…." muttered Miyu to herself, angrily.

Then, grumbling and mumbling to herself, she stomped off behind him.

The village turned out to be nearer than she thought. In fact, she had hardly walked for five minutes. The village was small and rather beautiful.

"That's the village of Heiomachi." told Kanata. "There are only a few people living here. But, it's a friendly place."

Miyu slowly gazed up at Kanata. The rays of the setting sun illuminated his face and highlighted his handsome features.

"Might as well forgive him….or at least, I'll go easy on him when I'm princess again.." she thought "After all, he saved my life back there, and it's not like I had to walk a lot or anything..." She sighed and slowly walked into the village…. her new home.

**A/N: **Sorry it's a bit short… I promise the next chapters will be more interesting and maybe a bit longer. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. **Please review** and tell me if I can improve in any way .

Good reviews inspire me to write good stories ….Bye!


	3. New life, new arrangements

**A/N:** Hi...Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks a bunch for the reviews. And please continue REVIEWING…

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Daa! Daa! Daa!

**Chapter 3**

**New life, new arrangements**

"Come and have your breakfast, Miyu." said a pretty young woman with shoulder-length black hair.

"Oh yes, thank you very much, Lady Mizuno." replied Miyu.

"I told you before… you don't have to call me 'Lady'. 'Mizuno' is just fine." she said, rather embarrassedly.

"Alright Lady… I mean Mizuno."

'Princess' Miyu had reached Heiomachi village only the previous evening.

She didn't exactly make the most royal entry that time…. Actually, she was covered from head to toe in slime and dirt from the swamp.

Kanata had taken her straight to Doctor Mizuno's house. Mizuno had treated her minor wounds, lent her a descent dress to wear and was kind enough to let her stay her stay the night. She had even helped her in scrubbing and washing her long blonde hair (which had practically turned brown)

And now that she was fresh and clean, all Miyu wanted was to explore the scenic little village and get to know the people around there. Just then, Mizuno came from outside and said, "Kanata is here. Why don't you go with him and have a look around the village?"

"I'd love to! Thanks for everything. See you in a while" exclaimed Miyu and ran outside.

Kanata was busy brushing his horse, with his back turned to her.

"How are you?" inquired Miyu, pleasantly.

Kanata climbed onto his horse and without turning back, replied, "After all the trouble I went through yesterday, I couldn't slee….."

Kanata's words trailed off as he turned towards her.

His eyes opened wide. He had expected to see the dirty brown haired girl from yesterday… not a beautiful blonde. He gazed at her as the wind played with her locks of her and made it fly about gracefully.

"I was hoping you would take me around the village… Well, how about it?" she asked softly.

"Sure, it would be my pleasure miss"

"What's with all the 'Miss' stuff ? What's wrong with you, Kanata? "

Kanata practically fell off his horse when he realized that the girl standing in front of him was the same girl from yesterday.

"You are Miyu?" asked Kanata, shock written all over his face.

"Of course I am. Now don't tell me you thought that I was someone else." replied Miyu.

"Now why would I think that?" he shot back and then added, "You are same helpless little girl from the forest."

"HELPLESS?? I know that you saved me and all… but that doesn't mean you can start acting like you are some great hero. Now, are you going to just stand there all day or are you going to show me around your village?" she said and started walking.

Kanata glared at her for a while and then climbed on to his horse and galloped right past her.

"Hey wait for me…." She cried out and chased him. "Why do you always leave me behind?? Can't you take me on your horse too?"

Kanata just yelled, "HURRY UP!!"

Miyu ran as fast as she could after Kanata, but she had to dodge the villagers and carts full of vegetables. It was amazing how Kanata managed to ride a horse through the village without any trouble at all.

Miyu cried out, "You are supposed to show me around and introduce me to everyone… not make me run around like I'm crazy."

Just as she said that, she stumbled on a rock and fell forward. The next thing she knew, a pair of strong arms had wrapped themselves around her waist and she found herself leaning against someone's chest. She straightened up and turned towards the face of her savior to see a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes. The situation was too awkward and rather romantic for Miyu…so she blushed.

"Hello there, I'm Mizuki. And who might you be?" he asked softly.

"Mi..Miyu" she replied timidly.

"Hey!! What do you think you are doing?" came a voice from nearby.

Mizuki slowly let go Miyu and turned around to see a very annoyed looking Kanata.

"Hello, Kanata. It's been a while. Good to see you again"

"Wish I could say the same. I thought you weren't coming back for another month." Kanata retorted.

Mizuki simply laughed and said, "You are the same as always"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he replied, arrogantly.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all."

Miyu, who had been silently watching the two turned towards Kanata and said reprovingly, "You don't have to be so arrogant. Try to act civilized for once."

"Goodness! Kanata, don't tell me you are in acquaintance with this pretty young girl." remarked Mizuki. Miyu blushed even harder at the praise.

"You are calling her 'pretty'? You should have seen her true form yesterday." Kanata replied.

"I'll show you true form!!" countered Miyu angrily.

Mizuki laughed and said, "I did not know that you two were such good friends." Both Miyu and Kanata opened their mouths to oppose but Mizuki turned towards Miyu and continued speaking.

"Actually, I had been to the neighbouring village to visit my sister, Mikan. I thought of staying there for a month, but she had to leave on some urgent business, so I came back. Well, I'd better get going. See you around, Miyu."

Miyu smiled and slowly walked ahead. For some reason, Kanata was no longer galloping ahead of her. Instead, he trotted behind her.

Noticing the blush which still lingered on her cheeks, he said, "You don't have to look so smug."

"Why? What's bothering you?" she asked.

"Nothing!" replied Kanata "_Just the fact that you look like this was the happiest moment of you life. What is wrong with me? Why am I so bothered about it?"_

By evening, Miyu had got introduced to most of the villagers. But she was disappointed with the fact that there were only two young people of her age. They were Santa and Akane. Santa was an energetic and rather weird boy with black hair. He loved collecting all sorts of strange things starting from heart shaped pebbles to bits of stick and string.

Akane on the other hand was a really pretty and intelligent girl with short black hair. It was evident that they were quite fond of each other.

Miyu also heard that there were two other girls but they were working in some distant kingdom. How she wished she had more girl friends. Anyway, she was happy for now. She had made rather interesting friends, especially Mizuki.

Anyway, it was getting late. She had eaten her lunch at Akane's house. But she thought it would be better if she went back to Mizuno's house for dinner. She waved goodbye to her new friends and slowly made her way back.

It was a while before she noticed that Kanata was not around. He had left without even telling her. "_Rude as usual!" _she thought.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her round the waist and hoist her on to a speeding horse. It happened so fast that she couldn't even defend herself.

"What do you think you're doing?? Put me down!!" she cried out and began to struggle to get away.

Instead of letting her go, the grip tightened around her waist and the person said, "Calm down or you'll fall." She knew that voice.

Startled, Miyu turned around to see Kanata.

"What are you doing? Let me go." She said, rather timidly.

"No. It was you who wanted me to take you for a ride on my beautiful horse. You get what you want."

She had no choice. It was this or the ground. Anyway, she was tired and couldn't help but appreciate the free ride. And another thing, she couldn't help noticing how warm and gentle he was. It was not everyday that she was literally swept off her feet by a handsome young man. As she continued gazing at his face, she noticed that he seemed familiar, somehow. She knew that she had never seen him before… and yet, something deep inside her heart told her that she knew him, very well.

Miyu had never faced such a situation…two romantic encounters with two handsome boys, in one day. And more surprises were yet to come.

They reached Mizuno's house soon enough. Miyu was surprised and really pleased to see that Mizuki was also there for dinner. She found out later that Mizuki was Mizuno's cousin and that he and his sister Mikan used to stay together.

"I'm so sorry, Miyu. But since Mizuki came back, I'm afraid I won't be having any spare rooms. I am terribly sorry." said a very troubled Mizuno.

"Oh, I see. Guess I have to find some other place to stay. No need to apologize. I understand." replied Miyu. "But the question is, where?"

As soon as she said that, both Mizuki and Mizuno turned towards Kanata, who was busy stuffing his mouth with food. Noticing the sudden silence, Kanata finally looked up from his plate and looked around.

"What? Why are you all looking at me?" he asked, clearly having paid no attention to the conversation.

"This is perfect." replied Mizuno. "You have a spare room. So, Miyu can stay with you."

"WHAT??" yelled both Miyu and Kanata at the same time.

"It's perfect. Kanata, you have been staying alone for so many years. Isn't it about time you had some company. Don't worry. Everything will work out just fine." said Mizuno.

"No it won't!" argued Kanata "We will never get along. We never agree with each other on anything."

"Yes, we probably will be fighting all the time." replied Miyu.

"See, you are already agreeing with each other right now. I don't want to hear any more excuses from both of you. This is the only arrangement we can find." said Mizuno, a definite finality in her tone.

"I won't…" insisted Miyu.

But later that night, Miyu wondered how the heck she had ended up agreeing to stay in Kanata's house. The cottage was a little separate from the village. One had to climb a low hill and go through a clump of trees to get to the cottage which stood on a small clearing. The rooms were spacious enough. Her room was upstairs, right opposite to Kanata's. It had a small bed in a corner, a cupboard, a table and a chair. It was nothing compared to what she had in her room in the palace. But guess she had no other choice but to adjust.

She sighed and got into bed, hoping that things would start looking brighter for a change.

**Meanwhile, in the castle**

"Durian, are you sure this plan is going to work?" asked a young girl with short red hair.

"Of course it's going to work, Guava. The 'book of evil' always had a strong barrier around it when that stupid princess was around. But now, the barrier has weakened. At this rate, we will be able to unleash our true power on the night of the alignment of all planets." replied Durian.

"But you haven't told me what the purpose of the 'book of evil' is, yet." said Guava.

"Yes, even I'd like to know what it is" said another young girl.

"Guava, Kiwi, be patient. All will be revealed to you in due course of time. Now, all I need is your cooperation. Is that understood?"

After a moment of hesitation, the two girls replied, "Yes, as you wish." And with that, Guava put on a traveling cloak and hurried off towards the stable."

Durian laughed evilly to herself and said, "My 'princess', you made it through the swamp. But don't worry; you'll be put out of your misery very soon."

**A/N:** I have holidays now…But once classes start it will be difficult for me to update. SORRY. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. (hope I haven't made any mistakes).

I've decided to give you all a peek into the next chapter…Princess Miyu will finally get to meet her brother Prince Luu. Her adventures in the village have just begun.

And by the way, PLEASE REVIEW!! Thanks for reading.


	4. Unexpected happenings I

**A/N:** Hooray!! My main exams are over. So, I'm finally back. A thousand apologies for updating ever so late… I just hope you all didn't lose interest in my fic.

I wasn't able to upload the fic for three days because of some error but i found an alternate way to do it...So there.Enjoy!

THANKS for all your reviews and do keep reviewing. It means a lot!!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Daa! Daa! Daa!

**Chapter 4**

**Unexpected happenings**

"Kiwi, have you heard any news from Guava?" asked a very annoyed looking Durian.

"Yes, she made it safel…" started Kiwi but Durian snapped, "I didn't ask whether she reached safely or not! What I want to know is whether she has managed to find Aura's mirror."

Kiwi backed a few steps away from Durian and muttered timidly, "I…I'm afraid she still hasn't found it. But I'm sure this is a minor delay… she will find it soon."

"A minor delay' is not part of the plan! We need that object to open the book!"

Kiwi cringed at Durian's tone and said, "Bu…But I thought that we would be able to open the book. You said that once Princess Miyu is out of the way, everything will be fine..."

"I know what I said! But things have changed." replied Durian, "Miyu and Luu definitely possess some sort of positive energy. I didn't want that to interfere with my plans."

"But what could they have done?" asked Kiwi.

"More damage than you can think. They are fools to be oblivious of their powers. But if they do find it, then that will be the end of us." replied Durian.

"But I still don't understand why you waited so long to send princess Miyu away."

"I didn't want the king and queen to lose confidence in me. They wouldn't exactly be pleased if I told them that their second child was in danger too. And besides, the planetary alignment is due next year. So there was no harm in keeping her here for so long." replied Durian and walked over to a stone pedestal where a big black book was kept.

It was rather sinister looking for a book, which was bound by thick rusty chains and a huge lock. Durian had barely inched her fingers close to the book than a barrier appeared around it and repelled her hand.

"You see this; I still cannot touch the book."

"Why hasn't the barrier disappeared?" asked Kiwi.

"The barrier has weakened and that's enough for now. With the mirror and the locket that belonged to Aura, we will be able to break the cursed shield. Now, I put you in charge of silencing Miyu. Have you planned how to do it? If she comes back to the castle, all our plans will be destroyed."

"Not to worry, I have already hired a couple of people. The job will be done soon"

Durian smirked and said, "She managed to survive for two weeks after we sent her to the swamp. But we'll see how she weasels her way out this time."

**Meanwhile, back at the village of Heiomachi,**

Miyu sighed as she gently wiped her sword with a piece of cloth. As she gazed at her reflection on the shiny blade, she thought about how her life had changed so drastically in the past two weeks.

She, who led the luxurious life of a princess, was now forced to lead an ordinary life.

But still, Miyu didn't complain.

She had always wanted to leave the castle and see how it was to be an ordinary commoner.

And Kanata didn't make things any easier for her either. Now that she was staying at his place, it was agreed that they would share all the chores between themselves. But Kanata didn't do half of what he was supposed to do.

Miyu found it really difficult to adjust at first, but she had no other choice. Moreover, as she had told everyone that she was a cook, she couldn't act like she was new to this sort of life.

By now, she trusted Kanata enough to tell him that she was a princess but she thought it would be better this way. If the news reached Durian, she would be in big trouble.

She would have to tell Kanata everything eventually, but for now, she just had to fit in.

So, she worked hard and managed to get all her chores done properly.

Miyu tried preparing all sorts of dishes but Kanata always had something to complain about.

"How can you call yourself a cook? No wonder no one has given you a job!" he would say.

But Miyu saw that he ate the food anyway and even took second and third helpings. So she just kept quiet and didn't argue. Otherwise, he was bearable enough.

Besides, she had other things to worry about. She wanted to search for her brother. She had no idea what he looked like and

"Why the heck do you keep on shining that sword if you don't even know how to use it?" retorted a very familiar voice.

Miyu snapped out of her thoughts and turned her head to see Kanata leaning against her door.

"What do you mean by don't know how to use it'?" she asked.

"Well, for one instance you couldn't fight those wolves." he said, smirking.

"That was different! I was already exhausted after wading through the swamp." She countered.

"Now, why don't you give that beautiful sword to me? I'll make good use of it." He said and steeped forward with his hand outstretched.

Miyu jumped to her feet and pointed the sword at his neck "If you want it, then why don't you fight me? Whoever wins gets the sword."

Kanata rolled his eyes and said, "I don't to waste my time playing with a helpless young girl."

"I think the truth is that you are afraid of losing to a helpless' young girl, Kanata." She said, tauntingly.

She seemed to have struck a nerve because Kanata unsheathed his sword and said, "Very well, as you wish."

He lazily twirled it around and yawned "Come get me."

Miyu charged forward and Kanata had to quickly defend himself. "Not bad for a girl."

As they continued fighting, Kanata was really surprised at how skillfully she was handling the sword.

Half an hour passed and still, all they managed to do was to inflict damage on each others clothes. Kanata's sleeves had been cut off and Miyu's ankle length skirt had been reduced up to her knees.

Miyu was equally surprised at Kanata's skill. No one had ever managed to cut even a single strand of her long blonde hair before.

At one point both their swords were knocked out of their hands. As Kanata tried to get to his sword which was nearer, Miyu launched at him, knocking him to the ground, "No you don't!!" she cried, victoriously

Just then, Mizuno burst inside the room saying, "I've got great news for you!!"

But as her eyes fell on the two of them, she turned bright red and cried out, "SORRY!! You two do whatever you were doing. I didn't see anything!!" and ran out of the room.

Miyu just stared at the door and said, "What's wrong with her?" and turned towards Kanata.

Then, she suddenly realized what Mizuno had thought she had seen.

She was practically on top of Kanata!!

She screamed, turning beetroot red, and jumped away from him and ran after Mizuno, "IT"S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!!!"

Mizuno was sitting at the table, still blushing, "I'm ever so sorry. I should have knocked and I didn't even know that something was going on between you two"

"No, no. We were fighting…." Miyu tried to explain.

But Mizuno just held up her hand and said, "It's alright. I won't tell anyone."

"I'm not lying. We were sword fighting and I got carried away and pushed him to the ground. That's all!!"

Mizuno merely laughed it off, "Ok, you two were fighting. I get it"

Miyu blushed like crazy. She had never been more embarrassed.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you that Mizuki and I are going to the next Mikan to visit Mikan today. She came back from her trip. So I was going to ask you to come along. And maybe we can also do a bit of shopping."

"That's a great idea. I wanted to go there to buy some new weapons. Why don't we all go?" suggested Kanata, who had just come downstairs.

"Yes, and you'll definitely need some new clothes, Miyu." Mizuno replied and with a quick glance at her torn dress, whispered, "The next time you two make out, I suggest you ask him to be more careful or you'll have to go shopping for new clothes every other day."

"I TOLD YOU THAT THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN US!!!!" Miyu screamed, still blushing.

"What's going on between who?" asked a very puzzled Kanata.

Miyu jerked her head around angrily and screamed at him, "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" With that, she stomped upstairs and banged her door shut.

"What did I do?" asked Kanata, clearly not having understood anything.

Mizuno just chuckled and said, "She will be alright. By the way, we'll be going there this afternoon. Why don't you both come after lunch?"

"Fine, I'll bring her." said Kanata.

"Oh Kanata, you are finally growing up to be a fine young man. Miyu is definitely one lucky girl." She said cheerily and left.

Kanata just scratched his head and said to himself, "Wonder what that was about?"

Miyu jerked her head around angrily and screamed at him, "IT'S ALL YOUR FALUT!!!" With that, she stomped upstairs and banged her door shut.

"What did I do?" asked Kanata, clearly not having understood anything.

Mizuno just chuckled and said, "She will be alright. By the way, we'll be going there this afternoon. Why don't you both come after lunch?"

"Fine, I'll bring her." said Kanata.

"Oh Kanata, you are finally growing up to be a fine young man. Miyu is definitely one lucky girl." She said cheerily and left.

Kanata just scratched his head and said to himself, "Wonder what that was about?"

Later that afternoon, Miyu and Kanata set off with Mizuki and Mizuno to the next town. Miyu ended up having to ride with Kanata. He complained that it was too much of a burden, but secretly, he was glad she wasn't with Mizuki.

They reached the town in an hour.

Miyu was thrilled to see that the town was actually a harbour. She had always read about the sea, but she had never actually seen it. The calm deep blue was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen in her life. There were a few ships docked on shore.

They stopped in front of a really majestic bungalow with lush gardens.

"WOW!" Miyu exclaimed, "This is Mizuki's house?"

"Well, it's actually his sister's house. She is a novelist and her stories have fetched a lot of fortune from different kingdoms." replied Kanata.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"She sells her stories to merchants who pass by this dock, and they sell it to rich nobles. I heard that they are really popular among the royal families. So Mikan leads a pretty luxurious life here."

"That's so wonderful!" exclaimed Miyu.

"Hey, are you two love birds going to sit there all day or are you going to come inside?" called out Mizuno.

Both of them blushed themselves silly. Miyu quickly got down from the horse and peeked at Mizuki to see if he had heard what Mizuno just said. But he was too busy talking, to a young woman with short red hair, to notice anything.

Eager to make a good first with impression, she hurried over and exclaimed, "Oh, it's so good to finally meet you, Miss Mikan!"

The young woman laughed, "I'm afraid I am not Mikan. I'm her assistant, Wanya. Miss Mikan hasn't arrived here just yet."

"But she sent me a letter saying that she was already here." protested Mizuki.

"Maybe she thought she would reach sooner and sent a letter earlier." She replied.

"This is just like my stupid sister to do something like this. Oh well, let's go in and freshen up."

The bungalow was big enough for each of them to have their rooms with two rooms to spare. Miyu was impressed. After freshening up and a nice tea, they all set out to explore the town.

The town was nothing like Miyu had ever seen. The place was packed with all sorts of people and it was very noisy.

Mizuno dragged Miyu into a dress shop and bullied her into trying out different outfits. The boys waited outside for a while but as the girls showed no sign of winding up, Kanata went inside and said to Mizuno, "Hey, we both are going to check out some stuff. We'll meet back at Mikan's place."

"Sure." Said Mizuno, dressed in an extremely frilly pink outfit, decked with glitters and ribbons "By the way, how do you like my dress?" she asked, dancing around the spot.

"Yeah, it's… great. Hehe he" _sweat drop_

"By the way" he added, looking around the store "Where's Miyu?"

He had barely completed his sentence Miyu stepped out light-footedly from behind a curtain saying, "Mizuno, this dress is lovely. But I don't think I'll be able to afford it."

Kanata stood there gaping at her as she appeared, clad in a delicate blue off shoulder dress with a flared skirt. Unlike Mizuno's it was plain, but it fitted perfectly around her slim figure and brought out the green of her eyes beautifully.

Miyu seemed flustered to see Kanata inside the store. "What are you doing inside?" she asked.

Kanata just stood there staring, without saying a word. Miyu squirmed uncomfortably. What was wrong with him?

Just then, Mizuki came inside, looking for Kanata.

"Oh wow!! You look incredibly gorgeous." He exclaimed on seeing Miyu, only to receive a loud "Hmph!" from Mizuno.

"You look... uh… great too." he said and added to Kanata "Let's go"

Kanata finally snapped out of his trance and left with Mizuki.

Miyu ended up buying ordinary clothes instead of the beautiful blue dress. She couldn't afford it and she didn't want to trouble Mizuno. There wasn't much money in the bag that her parents gave her. So she had to be very careful about how she spent it.

"Its alright." she explained to Mizuno as they headed back "I'll buy it later. I don't need it right now."

But Mizuno argued, "No, it was perfect for you. You should have let me buy it for you, Miyu."

Miyu replied "Don't worry…" but her words trailed away as a group of formidable looking men approached them.

"Hello, ladies" said one of them. "Could you please take me to the bar?" he asked and linked his arm around Miyu's and began dragging her away.

"Leave me alone" she cried "I don't know where the stupid bar is. I'm new in town."

"That solves everything, sweetie." He said "That's exactly what I wanted to know."

Miyu struggled to break free from him.

The other men pushed Mizuno out of the way, gagged Miyu with a piece of cloth and hoisted her onto a ship, docked nearby. Miyu put up a good struggle but what could she do without her sword against so many muscled men.

Mizuno couldn't believe that those men pulled off such a stunt in broad daylight. And already, passers-by were trying to board the ship to save Miyu.

And then something happened that made Mizuno's heart skip a beat- The ship unfurled a deadly looking flag with a sinister looking Skull.

It was a pirate ship!

And it was already sailing away…..

Too many things were happening in Miyu's life. And she didn't like it one bit.

**A/N:** I know I said I'll include Luu here but I couldn't. Guess I should stop giving hints about the later chapters.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it. If you did, then please do REVIEW…

Constructive criticism is always welcome. I really want to improve in any way I can.


	5. Unexpected happenings II

**A/N: **First of all, THANKYOU for all those wonderful reviews. It truly motivated me to update as soon as possible. I was so happy. So please continue to be such awesome fans!!

And besides, all my exams are over. So I am free to update at last.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Daa! Daa! Daa!

**Chapter 5**

**Unexpected happenings II **

Recap _The other men pushed Mizuno out of the way, gagged Miyu with a piece of cloth and hoisted her onto a ship, docked nearby. Miyu put up a good struggle but what could she do without her sword against so many muscled men._

_Mizuno couldn't believe that those men pulled off such a stunt in broad daylight. And already, passers-by were trying to board the ship to save Miyu._

_And then something happened that made Mizuno's heart skip a beat- The ship unfurled a deadly looking flag with a sinister looking Skull. _

_It was a pirate ship!_

_And it was already sailing away….._

_Too many things were happening in Miyu's life. And she didn't like it one bit. _

"This is just perfect." one of the pirates said "We go looking for the princess and she walks straight into our arms."

Miyu's eyes opened wide with shock.

They knew who she was and what's more, they had been looking for her.

Miyu squirmed and struggled to break free from the man carrying her on his shoulder, emitting muffled sounds through her gag.

"Stay put, princess!" the man ordered.

The men took her down to one of the cabins and literally tossed her into the dark and filthy room.

"Your chamber, my lady." the man said sarcastically. The others stupidly guffawed and cheered him on.

Miyu struggled to sit up straight. But it was difficult, owing to the fact that her hands and legs were tied up. She glared angrily at the men.

They laughed some more and one of them retorted, "Oh, looks like this one is a bit feisty." He walked up to her and said, "That's no way for a dignified 'princess' to behave. Speaking of which, I haven't even allowed you to introduce yourself properly…."

He reached out and untied the gag from her mouth.

The first thing Miyu did, once her mouth was free, was to scream. And she screamed out the first name that came to her head…

"KANATAAA!!!"

Thwack!!!

Miyu's voice disappeared as she sat frozen stiff in her place… her left cheek sporting a bright red sore.

Poor princess Miyu had just received her first … and most cruel slap. Her eyes welled up with tears of pain and frustration.

"Stupid girl!" the man muttered as he tied up the gag again. "I should have known you were going to do something like that. Well I have news for you, girl. We're a good distance from the shore right now. This 'Kanata' person wouldn't have even heard you."

The men locked her inside and went on deck. She heard them say, "How are we going to explain this to Chief?", before she was left all by herself.

"What's going to happen to me?" she thought, as she crawled to the cleanest corner she could find. "Please help me, somebody."

**Back on shore, **

"Kanata, slow down" wheezed Mizuki as he tried to keep pace with a running Kanata, "We told the girls we'll meet them back at the house, didn't we?"

"I just need to ask Miyu about some medicine she wanted." he lied …_"I just have this horrible feeling that she's in some sort of trouble."_

"But why are we running?" complained Mizuki, but he tagged along anyway.

Kanata suddenly came to a halt and Mizuki crashed right into him "What's wrong with you, man?" he groaned "You can't just…"

"Shhh!" cut in Kanata, "Do you hear that? It sounds like Mizuno."

Mizuki straightened up and listened "You're right." he agreed, "…and she seems to be arguing."

"Come let's hurry." Said Kanata and dashed off to where Mizuno was.

Mizuno was frantically trying to get help from the sailors on shore. "Please…" she begged "You've got to help the poor girl!!"

Everyone just shook their heads and turned away saying that it would be suicide to chase pirates. Mizuno was indeed aware of the dangers of pursuing a pirate ship. But she would be responsible for whatever happened to Miyu. And that was something she didn't want.

Just when all hope was running out, she spotted Kanata and Mizuki running towards her.

"What happened?" asked Kanata, seeing her panic-stricken face, "Where's Miyu?"

Mizuno quickly told them about what had just happened and finally broke down into tears.

"I…I couldn't do anything. The ship just went away" she sobbed, pointing to the pirate ship which was a good distance from the shore, and still sailing away.

"It's alright. It's not your fault." consoled Mizuki as he gently put his arms around her, "Kanata, we've got to find some help."

"I know" he replied angrily, "But who the heck is going to help."

"Pardon me," said a voice from behind him.

Kanata turned around and saw a young man with long blonde hair, tied in a loose pony tail. His purple-blue eyes twinkled as he asked, "Did I hear something about a girl being kidnapped?"

"Oh, Alan!" exclaimed Mizuno "I'm so glad to see you."

Mizuno urgently told him about their need for a ship to save Miyu.

Alan replied "Your friend is in danger! My ship has just docked on shore. We can use it."

The three of them graciously thanked Alan, rushed to his ship and started their pursuit. All hope was not lost, yet.

**Meanwhile, back on the pirate ship,**

Miyu was hoping that the pirates would leave her alone for a while, no matter how unlikely it sounded.

Just then, she heard some noises from outside. Her blood went cold. They were back already, and it had hardly been a couple of minutes.

But as they neared, she heard a woman's voice… and she seemed to arguing. Miyu wondered if this was another hostage.

Just then the door was slammed open and Miyu saw a young man enter the room, followed by the men who had kidnapped her.

But as the young man approached closer, Miyu realized that it was a woman.

Miyu mistook this fact because this woman had short orange hair and wore the same sort of clothes that the pirates were wearing. She couldn't see her face too clearly because it was still quite dark.

The woman walked right up to Miyu and stared at her intently. Then, without warning, she took out a dagger and said in a low voice "Stay still, Goldie"

"Oh no" thought Miyu "A woman pirate! Just great!"

The woman raised the dagger threateningly. Miyu immediately shut her eyes, waiting for the dagger to pierce into her skin. She was going to die…die on a pirate ship… by the hands of a woman.

But somehow, that didn't happen.

Miyu jerked open her eyes to see the woman cutting the ropes that were binding her. Miyu was too surprised to move.

The woman stood up and smirked, "Well, don't just sit there! Take off that stupid gag and get up."

Miyu quickly did just that and got into a defensive stance.

The woman laughed, "No need for that, Goldie. You don't want to hurt your dear relative, do you?"

"What rubbish!" Miyu yelled. But before she could do anything, the woman caught hold of her hand and dragged her out onto the deck.

Miyu was practically blinded by the bright light outside.

She raised her free hand over her eyes to block the sunlight and peered curiously at the woman.

But, when she saw the woman's face clearly, her face lit up with signs of recognition.

"R…Riu?" Miyu stammered uncertainly.

The woman smiled and said, "I thought you had forgotten me just then."

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Miyu "You're Princess Riu Yaboshi!"

"Of course I am" said Riu, as-matter-of-factly. "You don't have to say my full name out. And not to forget, I'm not princess anymore, remember?"

When Miyu didn't say anything, Riu said, "It's been a while. Hasn't it, Goldie? My, you're prettier than ever."

Miyu suddenly remembered that Goldie was her pet name when she was younger. Nobody called her that anymore, well, except Riu.

Miyu couldn't believe what was happening.

It had been five years since she saw Riu… five years since she heard that Riu had been disowned by her family.

And she had changed completely. She no longer had the beautiful long hair that Miyu once envied and she wasn't wearing the fine gowns she used to wear before.

Miyu tearfully rushed forward and hugged her beloved cousin, the one she always looked up to as a role model. "I'm so glad." She cried out "I thought I was never going to see you again…."

Riu returned the embrace and said affectionately, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Just then, a young man walked up to them. Riu gently broke apart from Miyu and glared at him. "Explain" she said authoritatively.

The man cowered and replied guiltily, "I'm sorry. I didn't know she was related you…"

"That's not the point!" she cut in, angrily "What did I say about kidnapping young girls??"

"You said… that we were not supposed to even think about such things." he dictated like a school boy answering his teacher

"That's right." Replied Riu "But do explain what this girl was doing tied up and gagged down in the cellar!?!"

"I said I'm sorry. It's not like we were going to hurt her. Please forgive me." He pleaded.

Miyu stared dumb-founded at her cousin. Here she was, making hardened pirates tremble. It was almost like she was their leader.

"What's going on here?" she interrupted.

Riu turned around and looked apologetically at her, "Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't even introduce him to you."

"Wh…what?" replied Miyu incredulously. Being introduced was the last thing on her mind. "Weren't you kidnapped as well?" she asked.

Riu laughed, "No dear. Let me make things more clear." With that, she walked up to the young man and linked her arms around his. "Meet Teru- my husband, and captain of this beautiful ship."

"Your what?!" cried out Miyu.

Riu looked rather embarrassed and replied, "Well of course…""That's why I… I was disowned by my family." She added slowly, her voice cracking.

"You ran away to marry a pirate?" Miyu asked.

Riu took Miyu's hand in hers and said softly, "We have a lot of catching up to do. Let's go somewhere more private." and led Miyu down to her quarters.

Miyu was safe for now… but Kanata and the others didn't know that and they continued their pursuit of the pirate ship, to bring Miyu back.

**A/N:** It's a bit short but hoped you liked it anyway. Please Review and let me know what you think…Thanks.And by the way, I have a feeling I got Riu's fiancés name wrong. If it's wrong, just let me know and I'll sort it out. Thanks.

P.S. Sorry if I didn't personally thank anyone who reviewed till now. I usually do. But fan fiction seemed to be having some problems earlier as I was not receiving any alerts.


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